Within 15 miles of my house there are 67 Bitcoin businesses.  The large companies are the holdouts.

Why Bitcoin’s Scoring in Argentina
Now this is the kind of news I like to read. [ ... ]

I don't think so, why do you?

I would find it plausible that Chinese exchanges were trading using their own funds for profit and were making a lot of money. I would also say that this practice can be extremely risky and would make holding funds at these exchanges risky as well.

probably  most will sell for some discount, how much of a discount we will never know

a merchant could afford to offer a 3% discount for paying in bitcoin and would have profits stay the same (no net cost). The customer would need to pay the coinbase "fee" of ~0.32% but would still end up paying ~2.68% less then they otherwise would. This is not only a lower net cost to the customer but the costs are more transparent.

So the marshals forgot to mention if or how and when they will announce the result? Well that's depressing (for the bitcoin price).

Those "regulated Bitcoin exchanges" on Wall Street [ will ]  be happy to take your real Bitcoins and give you dollars they borrowed into existence, and they'll be happy to give you paper Bitcoins for your Dollars, but when it comes time to actually redeem your paper Bitcoins for real ones it will turn out they won't have any.

This is a factual error.  The USG often retains seized property and uses it as it sees fit.  It's one of the perks of being allowed to seize property.  If you like something, you take it.  If they can't afford a law suit to get it back, it's all candy.

Jorge became a cultist some time ago... I clearly remember that he wrote that he doubled (or tripled?) his BTC portfolio. Todays drop was clearly Jorge cashing out because he needed a little extra cash for the auction. 

Mark Williams, a former bank examiner and now lecturer at Boston University, said the interest from Pantera and SecondMarket amounts to “a speculative bet, not of new buyers, but the same market promoters.”  “This auction doesn’t validate Bitcoin but simply demonstrated that the U.S. government is anxious to get out before prices drop again,” Williams wrote in an e-mail. “The U.S. Marshals Service has over 29,000 reasons to sell by private auction and sell now.”

Isn't the whole point to this thread to get an answer to your question in the form of a question?

Thanks for cutting my post into half, don't do that again. I guess you agree with point 2 and 3. [ ... ]

Of course they are going to bid above market price.
1) You can't see what the others bid, so you have to make your bid count.

Xu Star (OKCoin CEO): "This example of it: the central bank issued a circular said banks can not support Bitcoin transaction, but the bank itself also needs to make money, so they will help us to circumvent this policy to continue to cooperate.

Mining has done well, a lot of mines, China occupies 30-40% of the market, so that China has great influence, if you can force the operator to come together is very powerful. China now needs more cooperation, whether you like it or not, China will be an important role in the field of Bitcoin. Once over the front, regulators will have more responsibilities and tasks."

Bitcoin Conference in Hong Kong (Inside Bitcoins HK Conference) 6 月 24 -25 days held on, CEO Bitcoin China (btcChina) trading platform Lǐ Qǐ Yuán (Bobby Lee), on the Bitcoin currency finance financial business, the media, said: Financial currency financing is unhealthy malicious short. When the media asked "A lot of players think: Prices fell short because someone maliciously" is justified when Bobby Lee agreed.

Bobby Lee said: finance financial currency [ leverage trading? fractional banking? ] is unhealthy thing, although some people want to have this speculative function, but does have irresponsible (players).

[ ... ]
 
Bobby Lee also clear said: Chinese law does not prohibit bitcoins. But he also believes that sophisticated financial institutions, various types of transactions are highly regulated, and regulators clearly Bitcoin transactions done enough: You see some of the sophisticated financial institutions, they are monitored very powerful, banks, ah, ah equity line , on the margin there are very strict supervision. But now there is no regulatory bitcoin, some companies let finance financial currency, it is very irresponsible.

Bobby Lee further explained: you put the coins to me, I might secretly loaned out to others, to sell the price down, then later the price down, buy him back, he earned a lot of money. So if he does not make money, he bought it back, then you become a deficit, so the entire finance financial currency is risky.
 
He referred to the "finance financial currency" business, financial transactions in the traditional model, is not uncommon, but bitcoin regulatory environment compared to traditional regulatory margin trading business as a whole is more stringent.
 
China Bitcoin currency financing business financing, generally rise at the end of 2013. The business expanded investor's trading varieties, but also increased frequency of transactions. But the business model, in fact, not new. In the stock, commodity, foreign exchange and other trading ...... varieties, like business has been very mature.
 
However, due to certain factors, early May 2014, China bitcoin five trading platform (Huobi.com, BTC-China, OKCoin, CHBTC, BtcTrade), industry self-regulation was jointly issued a statement bulletin "pause currency finance financial business." But the reason paused, apparently considering various basis and is not entirely consistent. Feedback from investors point of view, it seems to convey some kind of disagreement: Support was expressed for self-declaration also expressed opposition or contempt.
 
Within a month's time, however short-lived, self-declared after the release, Huobi.com and OKCoin has restored financial currency financing business. This makes the self-declared before, looks a bit awkward.
 
The key issue seems to still fall on the interpretation of financial currency financing business itself, Bobby Lee expressed concern: national governments also have ideas on this matter, and this is part of their reason to suppress bitcoin. So we have not done this thing, and we have been very bitcoin China abide by the rules, do not play with the financing of financial credits, but it does have a number of other exchanges in the mess.
 
Known financial commentator Xiao Lei is expressed similar concerns, he believes, currency financing business financing can be short, the equivalent of financial derivatives, if not the bank for hosting all of the funds entrusted in the trading platform hosting, it is prone to illegal fund-raising and other financial risks: "In fact, greater market fluctuations in the volume of business financing when the financial currency, fee income trading platform to bring Bitcoin is also very impressive, and the opening of business finance financial currency trading platform for bitcoins it is less risky. '
 
Xiao Lei said: At present the central bank's financial attributes bitcoin completely stifled Bitcoin sharply reduced liquidity for Bitcoin trading platform has a greater impact, however small this event for Bitcoin itself influence.
 
About Bitcoin regulation, often involving real-name system, anti-money laundering, the approving authority units ...... so a series of rules developed. Interpretation of the status quo trading platform differences arise, it is understandable today. I believe that with industrial development and in-depth study of the legal experts, the future trading patterns and regulatory bottom line will be more clear.

Im talking about…what is he talking about…what where we talking about again?

How real is volume that is generated by 0% fees? We have to account for that.

Personally, I've only observed Bitstamp leading and Huobi following it reluctantly. I don't know why some perceive the opposite.

This is an excellent point!